Sensing a California Inmate Package in a Few Easy Steps

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

Get All the Info About Sending a California Inmate Package

If you can’t find the words to put in a letter and express your care to an incarcerated individual, you can opt to send them a package with items that speak instead of you and show that you are thinking of them. Find out how to surprise an inmate located in a correctional facility in California.

Inmate Care Packages California—How To Send Them

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has to approve the vendors before you can use their services to send a package to an inmate in the Golden State.

Family members and friends are not allowed to send quarterly inmate packages directly to inmates located in California state prisons.

If you want to send a package to a prisoner in this area of the United States, you can pick any of the following vendors:

  • The Vitamin Outlet

Once you pick the vendor, you can order a package from their website, over the phone, fax, or by email, depending on the options they offer.

How To Send Union Supply Inmate Packages in California

Union Supply is the vendor that has the biggest offer of packages you can send to prisoners. They cover everything from food to cosmetics and even clothing. Take a look at some of the most popular packages available at Union Supply:

PackageWhat the Package Includes

California Quarterly Package

  • This package includes food, clothing, and cosmetic products
  • Prisoners that fall into the category of the Privilege Group A/B can get one 30-pound package every quarter

California Special Purchase Package

  • This package includes radios, televisions, walkmans, and CD players
  • California Department of Corrections allows these items for certain inmates, and there is no restriction on the size of the package

California Religious Items Package

  • This package includes religious items, and they are considered a special purchase order
  • There is no need for a Chaplain signature to buy these items

California Dress Out Clothing Package

  • This package consists of clothing items such as shirts, shoes, pants, etc.
  • The inmate usually needs to receive these packages within 30 days of paroling

Who Can Send Packages to Inmates in California?

People who send packages to inmates are usually their friends and family members. The ones who have the closest bond with an inmate usually want to brighten up their day and help them endure their sentence with a bit more ease by surprising them with certain items.

Those are also the people who can be found on the approved visitation list, and if you fall into that category, you should have no problems sending a package to a prisoner.

What Items Are Allowed in CA Inmate Packages?

Bear in mind that each correctional facility has its own set of rules regarding what items may be sent to inmates. This is a list of things the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations mentions on their website:

  • Health care appliances
  • Religious items
  • Books
  • Musical instruments
  • Legal reference material

The privileged group of the prisoner determines what exactly they are allowed to receive. To make sure your care package reaches the inmate, find out if they are eligible to receive the items on the list.

When Will the Package Sent to an Inmate in California Arrive?

The vendors will try to deliver the package you sent to an inmate as fast as they can, and it usually doesn’t take more than 15 days. The exception to this rule is the holiday season (Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving), or if the prisoner is in a lockdown.

The packages must go through strict screening, which can also cause delivery delays.

Let DoNotPay Help You Connect With an Inmate

It is often difficult to find someone in the prison system, and you need to know the inmate’s location before sending them anything. Access DoNotPay in your and find the Connect With an Inmate category to get in touch with a prisoner easily. We offer you three ways of maintaining a good-quality relationship with a friend or family member who is in jail:

  • Send a Personalized Letter
  • Locate Someone
  • Virtual Mailbox

Whether you wish to write to a prisoner or visit an inmate, you can count on DoNotPay to provide the necessary information.

How To Locate a Prisoner With the Help of DoNotPay

DoNotPay can help you find an inmate in any state across the U.S., including California. If you are not sure what correctional facility they are being held in, we can assist you in finding out the exact address. You will only need to:

  1. Open DoNotPay and log in to your account
  2. Find the Locate Someone feature
  3. Enter the name of the prisoner in the text box
  4. Tell us what state the prisoner is being held in

DoNotPay has a rich database that includes different facilities, such as state, county, federal, or ICE detention centers, so the chance of locating your inmate friend is high. After you provide us with all the relevant info, we will let you know what facility they are in.

DoNotPay Can Send a Letter to an Inmate

If thinking about addressing the letter to an inmate properly gives you headaches, don’t worry—DoNotPay can help you out. We can assist you with the time- and energy-consuming process of writing letters to inmates. Forget about the post office and do the following instead:

  1. Open DoNotPay
  2. Find the Send a Personalized Letter feature
  3. Write the offender’s name and ID
  4. Compose a message or upload the one you already have
  5. You may add photos to the letter
  6. You can choose a template for your letter according to the occasion

When you finalize this simple procedure, DoNotPay will print the letter and send it to the inmate as soon as possible.

How To Get Letters From Inmates With DoNotPay

The conversation should go both ways so the inmate and their pen pal can maintain meaningful communication. If you wish to receive emails from prisoners, you should use our Virtual Mailbox feature.

This is how it works:

  1. The offender writes a letter
  2. They send it to a specific address
  3. We make a digital copy once we receive it
  4. DoNotPay sends the digital version to you

Your only task is to check your Virtual Mailbox to see if you got a reply from your incarcerated loved one.

What Else Can DoNotPay Do for You?

DoNotPay can help you find the best ways to send inmate packages in various states across the country, such as Georgia or Ohio, but also find an inmate in Texas.

If you are wondering how to meet an inmate or even marry one in county jail, we have the answers.

Perhaps you’d like to know more about sending text messages or love letters to inmates? Your virtual assistant will help you complete any of these tasks effortlessly.

Access DoNotPay from your and allow us to help you with the following issues:

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